Hey! So, another update after another long delay. Sorry. Anyway, here is what has happened in between chapter 3 and 4;

Adam and the guys work on building up his reputation. He gains a lot of attention and eventually Sonny (Blacklist 15) wants to challenge him. He agrees. Adam and Brooke went on a date (inevitable) It ended in a kiss. Now here he is, ready to take on his first blacklist challenge. Also, Sonny doesn't drive a VW Golf in my Need for Speed. I hate VW Golf's. They're boring. Good cars, but not street racer cars. I don't know how small little hatchback's make it into every Need for Speed. In the UK where I live, a modified hatchback is something only a stereotypical boy-racer would drive. They usually end up in ditches. Anyway, sorry for the rant. I always liked the livery of Sonny's car in the game, so in my NFS he drives a 2005-'10 model, drift-spec Scion tC with the same livery.

Enjoy!

Adam sat at the foot of his bed in almost total darkness, senselessly fiddling with his car keys. He had gotten ready an hour ago, yet still had another to kill before he had to leave. He had never been this nervous before a race before, but he had never really had one like this before. So much was riding on it; his reputation, his ultimate goal to take down Razor to name but a few of those things. Not to mention that on top of it all, Razor was going to be there tonight, watching from the side-lines. The guys had informed Adam that his presence usually draws the big crowds, which meant that the rest of the blacklist would probably be making an appearance too. No pressure, then.

Adam flopped backwards onto the bed with a long, anxious huff, and stared up at the ceiling. In some ways, it was a blessing that the other fourteen would be there. They would know that he was serious, and realise that he was a genuine threat, if he won. When he won. You've got this, he told himself, over and over.

Adam was roused from his trance by the low, unmistakably modified rumble of an engine. Springing from his bed, he moved towards the window and drew back the curtain, letting the orange glow of the street lights bathe the room with an eerie tranquillity. The noise was coming from a tuned Nissan S13. It wafted along the streets, illuminated by the same disconcerting glow that was casting an almost sympathetic sense of tension over Adam's room. He watched as it passed his building and disappeared around the corner. A fellow racer on their way to watch the race, or just a normal citizen with a taste for Japanese imports on a late night grocery run? Who knows? Adam dropped the curtain, and the glow of the streetlights faded along with the momentary sense of ease that he had gotten from watching the car drive by.

He glanced at his watch. Forty-two minutes until he could leave. Any sooner and he may as well be the first one there, and he didn't want to appear over-eager, and over-confident. Luke had thought it best that he arrive alone this time. He would appear much more confident and formidable than if he turned up with his usual entourage of the guys and Brooke.

Time dragged so slowly. Adam made toast, but decided he wasn't hungry enough to eat it. Turned on the television, but couldn't find anything worth watching. He changed his t-shirt, only to decide that he preferred the one he had on beforehand. He watched another two modified cars drive past. Checked his watch countless times. When finally it was time to leave, he hesitated for several minutes. Was he really ready for this? Did he even really want to get caught up in something as serious as this? He snapped out of it, and headed out into the night.

Adam didn't pay much attention on the drive out of the city and up into the hills. He knew where to go, but as he got closer he couldn't really remember how he had got there. It was like he had been driving on autopilot. He shook his head. Time to focus. He glanced in his mirror. The bright lights of Los Angeles were shrinking into the darkness, behind the hills.

After following a long, quiet, winding road for a further fifteen minutes, he came across a road block. A set of traffic cones spanned the width of the road, and in the middle stood a 'road closed' sign. He waited for a few seconds, peering into the space before him that was illuminated by his headlights. Nothing. He waited some more. Still nothing. He knew this was the right road. Surely this road block had to have been set up? Just as he reached to unclip his safety belt so that he could get out and move the cones, a man ran out from behind the trees to his left. On closer inspection, Adam could make out the silhouette of a car and at least two other people, hidden behind the foliage. Had he not been looking for them, he would never have known they were there. The man who had just appeared had made a gap in the road block wide enough for Adam to fit through. He peered around cautiously, and then gave Adam a thumbs up. Adam flashed his headlights in thanks, and proceeded on his way, smiling in his rear-view as he watched the guy swiftly replace the cones, and jog back to his hiding place.

Moments later, lights begin to appear up ahead. As he got closer he found the road completely blocked by cars and people. Either side of the road was lined with cars, and the people flocked between them, parting like the red sea as he slowly crept through. Some shouted words of encouragement, gave thumbs up and other friendly gestures, while others, booed, cursed and made less friendly gestures. Finally, the Aston Martin and Charger of Luke and Nick came into view. He scanned around for them, but instead found Vince. Surrounded by his cronies, he turned to meet Adam's gaze as one of them pointed to the Skyline, and the two of them stared at each other coldly. Adam wasn't aware what the rest of the blacklist looked like, but he thought he could make out some of them from the equally cold stares he was getting from some of the other racers surrounded by their posse's. No sign of Razor. Yet

A tapping on his window caused Adam jump slightly. He rolled down the window for Brooke, Luke and Nick.

"Nice timing. Sonny is already here and people were beginning to question whether you would show. We've got them right where we want them" Luke said. "If they've set you up for failure already then victory will be oh so sweeter." Adam nodded and smiled to conceal the nerves.

"The start is about 2 miles that way" said Brooke, pointing in the direction that Adam had been travelling. "Sonny is up there waiting, so go get him" she winked. She leaned into the car and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. The sweet scent of her perfume filled his car, and the coupled with the softness of her lips, did more to calm him down than any pep-talk. The crowd oohed and wolf whistled. Brooke pulled away, smiling and ignoring the jeering. Adam smiled back and then looked at Nick.

"You don't get one of those from me" he joked. "But good luck all the same." They all wished him luck, and Adam set off. The crowd behind him booed and cheered as he drove away, but he wasn't listening to any of them. It was time to get in the zone. He drove at a reasonable pace, slow enough for him to take in the route. He would of course be doing it in reverse, but this was the only opportunity he was going to get to learn the roads. As Sonny had demanded the race be here, it was obvious that he himself was more than practiced on this stretch of asphalt. There were some good twists and turns, and some good straights too. Adam had to laugh at the cowardice of this setting though – a quiet road, far out of town, away from the police and traffic. It would probably be deserted at this time of night even without the road closed signs that had been set up. Even so, this would be no easy challenge.

It didn't take Adam long to reach the start line. Sonny's Scion tC sat patiently waiting, its currently dipped headlights giving it a somewhat menacing demeanour. Sonny leant against the driver's door, watching Adam with an expression mimicked by the car's aurora; patient, menacing, ready to attack. There were two other men there, and behind Sonny's car was an Escalade that Adam assumed belonged to one of them. He figured they were either there as support for Sonny, or to start the race. As Adam got out of his car, Sonny began to approach him. The two guys shifted as if something was about to go down, but relaxed as Sonny stopped in front of Adam.

"Was starting to think you'd chickened out" Sonny said calmly. "I wouldn't blame you."

Adam wasn't intimidated. He just smirked. "I was actually just making a last minute modification. I was trying to make my ride a bit slower to keep this fair on you." Smack talk really wasn't Adam's thing, but he was trying to compensate for the nerves by acting cocky. A dangerous tactic, he had learned from his first encounter with Vince, but he couldn't help himself.

Sonny gave a small, unperturbed laugh, and kept his gaze. He surveyed Adam, before stepping back a few paces. "Shall we?"

The two men stepped forward, and one of them spoke. "Okay, so I think this is fairly obvious but just in case – first one back to the other end wins, the loser hands over ten thousand bucks and the winner either gets to keep or gain the fifteenth spot on the blacklist. All clear?" The two drivers nodded, still staring each other out. "Good. Gentlemen, saddle up."

Adam and Sonny made for their cars, the man that had just spoke headed for the Escalade, and the other one took his place in between the two vehicles of the racers. Adam strapped in, checked everything was all good, and then flicked the key in the ignition. He exhaled. This was it. Sonny confidently took his place behind the wheel, telling the nervous voice inside his head to shut up.

As both engines fired up, the starter pointed to each driver for confirmation that they were ready, and upon receiving it, he threw his arms into the air. Engines revved, tires squealed, hearts pounded and as the guy in front dropped his arms, the race began.

Sonny's Scion rocketed off the line, taking the lead into the first bend. Sonny ripped the handbrake, and drifted the entire turn, smirking as he blocked Adam from trying to get past. The manoeuvre had caught Adam completely unaware – he hadn't been expecting it. There seemed to be a reason that sonny's Scion was styled like a drift machine, then. He managed to reel Sonny in on the next straightaway. He was now tucked right under the Scion's rear wing, and getting a good pull in the slipstream. He moved out of it for another go at getting by. Sonny countered. Adam had better position for the next bend, a long, fast curve in the road. He out-braked Sonny and gained the lead. Adam chose the proper racing line in the corner, and saw Sonny do the same. Guess he'd given up with the flashy drifting now that he was behind. His headlights filled Adam's mirrors. The noise of the Scion's turbocharged engine was so close it felt like it was coming from inside Adam's ears. Their cars drew level on the next straight. Adam compelled himself to keep his eyes on the road, and not to look over and see if Sonny appeared to be struggling or not. He grabbed another gear, and edged forwards. They hung on to each other through the next few bends, both drivers pushing the other as hard as they could. Adam could see lights up ahead. The finish was so close. There was one more turn. He would need to get this perfect to stay in the lead. He moved to the outside, ready to take the best line through the corner. Adam's heart began racing as he saw that Sonny did not do the same, and instead just breezed past, thinking Adam had backed off. He had this now. It was his race to win. Sonny laughed as he shot past Adam towards the corner. They both turned in, but Sonny was going too fast and was taking the wrong line. He cursed loudly as his car veered wide out of the exit. Adam had judged it perfectly, and sailed past Sonny's under-steering car. Adam was able to maintain his speed through the corner, whereas Sonny was forced to change down a couple of gears. He was carrying no speed into the last straight compared to Adam, who was leaving him behind and streaking towards victory. Sonny slammed his steering wheel, cursing even more as he desperately floored the accelerator and shoved the stick into gear. Adam watched Sonny's car shrink in his rear-view, and punched the air as he saw the finish line approaching.

"YES! Come on!" he shouted as he skidded to a halt, and was surrounded by the euphoric crowd. He could barely move as he got out of his car. People were fighting to get to him to congratulate him, shake his hand, and show their support. So many people were talking to him at once, he could barely make out what anybody was saying. Somehow, over the noise, he heard Nick's booming voice telling people to make way. He appeared through the crowd with Luke and Brooke, all looking ecstatic, and they all pushed towards him and all hugged him at the same time. They jumped around on the spot excitedly, screaming their congratulations

"Yes! We knew you could do it!" from Luke.

"Come on, that's what I'm talking about" from Nick, shouting so the crowd could hear. More cheers. The crowd began to back off, and Adam took the opportunity to gaze around. Sonny stood by his car, angrily pushing people away from him, not wanting their condolences. Most of his entourage seemed to have abandoned him, fleeing like the status he had just lost had been the only thing keeping them around. A few loyal members still hung about and tried to talk to him despite the fact that he was furious and taking it out on everyone around him. Vince was hastily getting into his car and leaving, so were a couple of others. Satisfaction washed over Adam like a wave of hot air. Still no sign of Razor, though. Did even he bother showing up? Brooke's voice pulled him back into the moment.

"Hey! Congratulations, blacklist fifteen" she said, leaning in for another kiss. They ignored the jeering once again. It was the ice cold voice of Razor and the hush that followed that stopped them. He was stood in front of them, his posse behind him.

"Well, well, well. You're now a member of the blacklist" he said. "You must be very happy." He gave a half smile - a smile that was filled with sarcasm and menace. Adam stared back, his face straight, eyes burning with hatred. Brook held his hand, and the other guys stood confidently beside him. The crowd had quietened down dramatically. Razor continued. "Don't get too used to it. It won't last long." He skulked back through the crowd, crew in tow, and disappeared once again. Just as the crowd began to liven up again, Luke turned to Adam.

"Seriously dude, well done. This is huge. No one has taken on the blacklist and won in months." He slapped Adam on the arm, and Adam nodded. He felt so good. Better than he had done after any win before. He wanted to celebrate. It was as though Nick read his mind.

"AFTER-PARTY AT THE GARAGE!" he shouted.